1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of reclining devices for supporting the human body, and more particularly, is concerned with an affordable, portable, air inflatable recliner to sit atop a medical patient's bed to provide the correct and most effective medical convalescent postures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A classic convalescent posture that has been recommended by doctors for decades for its promotion of the healing processes for many medical conditions was defined by American surgeon George Ryerson Fowler at the turn of this century. It is known as the "Fowler position." In the Fowler position the medical patient is reclining in bed in a supine posture with the head of the patient's bed raised 18 to 20 inches above the level, and the knees also elevated. This basic configuration of body support has been adopted and utilized in medical practice because of its inherent physiological convalescent properties resulting from the effective use of gravitational forces, and because it has proven to be an anatomically correct posture as evidenced by its long-term comfort.
For these reasons, most convalescence in medical practice is prescribed to be accomplished in a Fowler position. More particularly, the configurations of body support that have long been known and prescribed by doctors because of their inherent convalescent properties are presented in FIG. 9 ("Prior Art"), representing the basic Fowler position, and FIG. 10 ("Prior Art"), representing the modified Fowler position. Embodiments of these basic configurations of body support can be found in adjustable hospital beds, but as medical costs have risen, a definite trend toward minimizing hospital convalescence in favor of convalescence outside the hospital has been observed. Even minor surgery is now being accomplished on an outpatient basis. However, no satisfactory, air inflatable alternative to the adjustable hospital-style bed was available for utilization in convalescent care in the patient's home, or at intermediate care facilities such as nursing homes, for example. The present invention provides an affordable, portable, air inflatable recliner to rest atop a medical patient's bed to provide the correct and effective medical convalescent postures represented by the basic or modified Fowler position.
Various forms of reclining devices that support the human body in the basic and modified Fowler positions depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10 have been proposed in the prior art. These Fowler positions have been generally embodied not only in hospital beds but also in surgical tables, dentist chairs, lounge chairs, beach chairs, and furniture recliners of numerous types. However, such embodiments of the Fowler position are not suitable for affordable and easily portable home or secondary care facility convalescent care or do not provide the correct and effective medical convalescent postures depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10.
Patent references known to the inventors that may be relevant include the following:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee ______________________________________ 4,473,913 Ylvisaker 4,171,549 Morrell et al. 3,680,917 Harris 2,612,645 Boland ______________________________________
In the Ylvisaker reference there is disclosed a three-pillowed therapeutic support cushion composed, in part, of two end pillows that when spaced apart will, in cooperation with a horizontal surface, support a person in a supine posture in a Fowler-type position. The three-pillowed therapeutic support cushion of Ylvisaker is principally designed for convalescence in a face-down prone position to situate a person so that the spine is in a forwardly curving and relaxed posture. By virtue of the end pillow design necessary to accommodate a person in the primary face-down prone position the use of the end pillows to support a person in a supine posture in a Fowler-type position as taught by Ylvisaker does not result in the correct and effective medical convalescent postures of the basic or modified Fowler positions depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10, which are provided by the instant invention. In the Ylvisaker construction, the end pillows are always of identical construction, being mirror images of one another. While the Ylvisaker end pillows would provide support of the legs and upper torso in a Fowler-type supine position if positioned in the manner taught, these pillows would not position the person in an anatomically and physiologically correct manner. The human body does not measure the same from the coccyx (the tip of the spine) to the popliteal fossa (the area immediately behind the knees) as it does from the coccyx to the top of the head, the latter always being of greater measure. The natural and medically correct anatomical and physiological breaking point of the human body between the legs and the torso is at the waist, and not at any point between the coccyx and the top of the head. For the body to break at the waist and at the popliteal fossa, pillows with differing support surface lengths will be required. The support surface between the coccyx and the top of the head would necessarily be longer than the support surface between the coccyx and the popliteal fossa. The Ylvisaker construction results in a break point between the coccyx and the top of the head, and if adjusted to provide a break point at the waist would result in either the head and body not being fully supported or in the popliteal fossa not being properly supported. Furthermore, even though the Ylvisaker construction provides for air inflatability of the end pillows to be used in the supine support mode, there is not the same capability of precisely varying the degree of elevation of the torso for varying medical convalescent needs that is provided in the present invention. Furthermore, the Ylvisaker construction does not provide the structural integrity of the present invention as, for example, the Ylvisaker end pillows are not secured together in any of the possible arrangements, making this construction unsuitable for accommodating the nocturnal kinetics of the convalescing patient, such as when the sleeping patient would toss or roll over onto one side or the other. This kineses causes the patient to slide down hill, so to speak, such that the body conformation is medically unacceptable. The instant invention, by virtue of its interconnected lower body support system, prevents such down hill sliding. The present invention provides support surfaces that resist the longitudinal kinetics of the unconscious patient by the nature of their construction. The support surfaces for the back and head and the leg and foot of the present invention are interconnected together to prevent their relative displacement, thereby providing resistance to body movement that would necessitate relative displacement to any degree of these surfaces.
In the Boland reference there is disclosed a reclining air cushion with an attached apron to be situated under a person to secure the cushion in place. In the Morrell reference there is disclosed a cushion ensemble that may be arranged in various ways to provide various body postures. In the Harris reference there is disclosed an inflatable, ribbed floor rest. Neither the Boland, the Morrell, or the Harris construction embody the efficient and medically correct Fowler positions depicted in FIG. 9 or 10, as does the present invention, nor are such references suitable for accommodating the nocturnal kinetics of the convalescing patient, as is the present invention.
In contrast to the human body supports of the prior art, the present invention provides for the first time a portable, air inflatable recliner to rest atop a patient's bed to support the patient in the correct and effective medical convalescent postures of a basic or modified Fowler position and which is suitable for accommodating the nocturnal kinetics of the convalescing patient.